The Winterthur made two voyages to
Auckland, occupying respectively 119 and 117 days. On the first passage sge sailed from
London on the 23rd January, 1865, with 126 passengers, under the command of Captain
Goudie, who had visited Auckland three years earlier in the Matilda Wattenbach. The ship
had a rough experience in the Channel, and did not clear Start Point until the 9th
February. She crossed the line on the 18th March. Port was reached on May 23rd. In 1866,
the Winterthur came out with Captain Hunt in command. She left Gravesend on the 24th June,
and reached Auckland on the 19th October, after a pleasant and uneventful passage. The
vessel was able to carry her royals until passing the Cape. On this occasion the
Winterthur brought out only 59 passengers.White Wings - Sir Henry Brett

Edward and Thomas COATES:Edward Coates was born in 1843 in the family home
Eyton in the Parish of Eyton, Leominster, Herefordshire. His brother
Thomas was five years his junior. Though born to a family that had owned half of
Eyton Parish, their prospects were not good. Some years earlier the family has lost
much of their landholding to pay gambling debts and with little land remaining Edward and
Thomas, being the fifth and sixth sons of a family of 13, stood no chance of living the
life of English landed gentry. Influenced by a family friends business success
in the Kaipara area, they left for New Zealand in 1866 eventually settling on 2,420
acres known as the Unuwhao Block near Matakohe, which they had purchased on behalf of a
sponsor for £950. In 1871 local Maori chiefs leased them title to the neighbouring 10,410
acre Hukatere Block, including rights to all timber and kauri gum, for a term of 15 years
and an annual rental of £160. With the new land secured, Thomas Coates made arrangements
for his fiancée, Elizabeth Phillips, a school teacher from Sudley in Gloucestershire, to
come ou to New Zealand. In 1877 Edward Coates married Eleanor Aickin, daughter of an Irish
doctor (Thomas Aickin) who emigrated to
Auckland in the 1850s. They were married at Auckland and made their home at the newly
erected Ruatuna Homestead. Edward Coates eldest son, Gordon (1878 - 1943), was to become
the first New Zealand born Prime Minister. The Ruatuna Homestead and surrounding land at
matakohe is now owned by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. If you have a connection
with this family or would like to know more please contact Hugh Speechly.